Vanguard, AstraZeneca partner to decarbonize medicine manufacturing through AD

AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company based in the United Kingdom, is partnering with Vanguard Renewables in what the companies say is a first-of-its-kind collaboration. In the partnership, Weston, Massachusetts-based Vanguard will enable the delivery of renewable natural gas (RNG) to AstraZeneca’s sites in the U.S. by the end of 2026.

In June, AstraZeneca began purchasing RNG produced by Vanguard for its Newark Campus in Delaware, where the company packages 26 medicines for distribution across the U.S. and medicine formulations for global supply. By 2026, this collaboration will enable as much as 650,000 million British thermal units, or 190,500-megawatt hours, per year of RNG to be used across AstraZeneca’s U.S. sites.

“We recognize the interconnection between the health of people and the planet and are committed to driving deep decarbonization across our operations and value chain,” says Pam Cheng, executive vice president of global operations and IT and chief sustainability officer at AstraZeneca. “Our innovative partnership with Vanguard Renewables in the U.S. is an illustration of how we are collaborating at scale to deliver sustainable science and medicines, as part of the transition to net zero health systems and a circular economy.”

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According to AstraZeneca, its partnership with Vanguard is an important milestone in the company’s goal to reduce emissions. Through its Ambition Zero Carbon program, Vanguard is on track to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its global operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 98 percent by 2026 from a 2015 baseline. By 2023, AstraZeneca aims to halve its entire value chain footprint on the way to becoming net zero by 2045.

The use of RNG at AstraZeneca sites in the U.S. will further enable the company’s transition to 100 percent renewable energy for heat and power.

This agreement will utilize Vanguard’s Farm Powered process, allowing the company to work with dairy farmers, food and beverage manufacturers, retailers and distributors to produce RNG using farm-based anaerobic digestion (AD) from food and dairy cow manure. Once the RNG is produced and captured through AD, it will be injected into existing natural gas infrastructure for use in AstraZeneca medicines research and manufacturing processes.

AstraZeneca will access high-quality RNG from three on-farm AD facilities across the U.S. for the next 15 years or more.

“Vanguard Renewables is excited to be partnering with AstraZeneca on this transformative business-to-business clean energy solution. AstraZeneca has set a very ambitious and challenging net zero target, which is a benchmark for their sector and other global corporations,” says Neil H. Smith, CEO of Vanguard Renewables. “We strongly believe this partnership will provide a path for other like-minded companies to join us on the journey towards global decarbonization.”